JB Joel Brand, Esq. DUI Lawyer Call (888) 271-6644
Client intake

Client Intake Form

This is the long questionnaire. Your answers are what I build the defense from, and the details that feel too small to mention are often the ones that turn out to matter, so write down the thing you almost skipped.

Take your time. Your answers save automatically on this device as you type, which means you can close the page, go to work, and pick it up tonight where you left off.

Only four fields are required. Everything else can stay blank. If you do not know, or do not remember, say so instead of guessing.

Confidential and privileged

What you write here is a confidential communication with your attorney and is protected by the attorney-client privilege. I use it to defend your case. It does not leave my office except where your defense requires it.

The connection is encrypted and your uploads are stored privately. Do not put anything on this page you would not say to me directly.

Your answers save on this device as you type.
About you

Your details, and how to reach you. If your phone number or address changes while the case is open, tell me the same day.

Can I reach you at work if I need to?
The arrest

Start with the basics: date, time, place, agency, and what they told you they were arresting you for. If a detail is fuzzy, write what you remember and say you are not certain.

Were you booked into jail?
Was your car towed or impounded?
Was anyone in the car with you?
Court and DMV

Any court date, any DMV hearing date, any letter or notice you have received. Upload the paperwork below if you still have it.

Have you been arraigned yet?
Did the officer hand you a pink form, the DS-367?
Did the officer take your plastic license away?
Has a DMV hearing been requested?
Do you have an ignition interlock device installed?
Prior record

List any prior arrest, conviction, or DMV suspension, however old, including anything dismissed or expunged. I need the whole history to read this case correctly.

Are you on probation right now?
The stop

Tell it as a sequence, starting from the first moment you were aware of the officer. Write what you actually remember. Where you do not remember, say that instead of filling the gap with what probably happened, because a guess that later turns out to be wrong is worse for you than a blank.

Were you the one driving?
Was this a DUI checkpoint?
Was there a collision?
Was the officer's weapon drawn at any point?
Were you told, or did you notice, that a body camera or dash camera was running?
Did you or a passenger record any of it on a phone?
Roadside tests

The roadside tests. What surface were you standing on, what was on your feet, how was the lighting, how close was traffic, and what exactly were you told to do before each one.

Were you asked to do roadside tests?
Were you told the tests were optional?
Were you offered a small handheld breath device at the roadside?
Were you told that handheld roadside test was optional?
What was said

What you said, what the officer said, and when. Get as close to the actual words as you can. Timing matters here more than almost anywhere else on this form, so note whether something was said before the tests, after the arrest, in the car, or at the station.

Were you read your rights?
Chemical testing

The breath or blood test. Times, what you were offered, what you were told, whether anything went wrong, who handled it, and what result you were shown.

Were you offered a choice between breath and blood?
Was the officer reading that to you from a card or form?
Before the breath test, did someone watch you continuously for about fifteen minutes?
Did you burp, hiccup, vomit, or bring anything up before or during the breath test?
Was your arm wiped with something before the needle went in?
Were you told you could have your own doctor run an additional test?
Drinking timeline

An honest timeline beats a flattering one every time. What you drank, how much, over what hours, and when you last ate.

Had you had anything to drink at all?
Every drink, in order
TimeWhat it wasHow big
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Did you drink anything after you stopped driving but before the police arrived?
Did you drink anything after you were arrested?
Do you have a receipt, a bar tab, or a card statement from that night?
Medications and other substances

Prescriptions, over the counter medication, cannabis, anything else, going back three days. Include the dose and the time, and note whether you mentioned it to the officer or to anyone at the jail.

Did you take anything at all in the three days before the arrest, including prescriptions?
Everything you took
What it wasHow muchWhenPrescribed to you?
1
2
3
4
5
Did you tell the officer about any of it?
Physical condition

Injuries, balance problems, bad knees, anxiety, exhaustion, dental work, acid reflux, diabetes, asthma. These affect how a person performs on roadside tests and how a breath machine reads, and clients routinely leave them out because they do not seem related to a DUI.

Check anything that applies to you
Any dental work in the twenty four hours before?
Vehicle, road, and weather

The car, the road, the weather. Mechanical problems, a slope, a rough shoulder, glare, rain, construction, anything about the place you were stopped.

Any leak in the exhaust?
What this case affects

How this case reaches the rest of your life: work, a professional license, immigration status, school, custody, travel. I use this when I decide what to raise with the court and with the DMV.

Do you hold a commercial driver's license?
Do you drive as part of your job?
Witnesses

Passengers, and anyone else who saw the driving, the stop, the tests, or you earlier in the evening. Names and phone numbers if you have them.

Have you posted anything about the arrest anywhere?
Alcohol and substance use

I ask this of everyone and I am not asking it to judge you. Your honest answer changes what I can ask the court for, and in some cases starting a program before the case is resolved matters a great deal.

Would you be willing to start a treatment or education program now, before the case is resolved?
Documents and photos

Paperwork, notices, citations, photos, video, text messages. Anything connected to the arrest.

The single most useful document is the pink DS-367 form the officer handed you at the roadside, and a phone photo of it is fine as long as all four corners are in frame and the text is readable.

Up to 25 files and 250 MB in total. Nothing selected yet.

            Anything else

            Whatever did not fit above. If it seems small or strange, put it in.

            Required: your name, email, phone, and the date of the arrest. Everything else can be left blank.